5 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

Isn’t it crazy when a short work week still feels like the longest week ever?  Thank goodness it’s Friday…time to link up with the DC Trifecta: Cynthia of You Signed Up For What, Courtney of Eat Pray Run DC, and Mar of Mar On the Run for the Friday Five!  The theme this week is 5 Things About Me!

Five Things About Me

I Was a Band Nerd

Yes, it is true.  I hate the name for it, but that’s what I was!  When I was in the fourth grade, I joined the school band and played clarinet.  I fell completely in love with reading music (I’m a killer sight-reader!) and I loved how great music could be created with a large group of people.  My band teacher, Mr. Hill, was amazing.

My favorite time in the band had to be in high school.  Mr. Boyar was so much fun!  I practically lived in the band room and rushed to be the first person there every morning at 7.  Here is where I learned to play alto saxophone and how to play jazz…which is so awesome!  I was also lucky to play with some very talented students that could solo like a boss!  We went on big trips every year (Busch Gardens, Cedar Point, Disney World(!), and the Berklee Jazz Festival), and I was constantly hawking candy bars to pay for it.  Memories!

And yes, I went to band camp! It was an amazing experience at Fredonia School of Music.  We played EXTREMELY difficult music and I learned a ton from all of the other talented students.  I even won a scholarship to attend a second year.

After college I took a break, but eventually joined the Penn Band, a crazy scramble band, which is essentially organized chaos on the football field.  We traveled to all of the Ivy League football and basketball games, so we spent a lot of time on buses and on dorm room floors.  Everyone was so kooky but fun…I wish I joined earlier.  As an alum I still play with them on occasion.  I was able to attend the 2007 NCAA Tournament when Penn played Texas A&M…we lost…but it was awesome!

I LOVE Harry Potter

Okay clearly I love the band and love talking about it!!  But I’m also a HUGE Harry Potter fan!  I fell in love extremely late in the game…I saw pieces of some of the first movies, but my sister started reading the books around 2004-ish and then I became hooked!  We are still obsessed!  I think J.K. Rowling is a fantastic author, and even though the books get extremely dark by the end, the theme of love is what it’s all about.  Speaking of love, I am in love with Ron Weasley….yes, I said it!  And if you don’t believe Book Ron > Movie Ron…we need to talk.

I’m one of those people who will constantly compare the film to the original book and tell you what they got wrong.  Can we just have a complete do-over with The Goblet of Fire?  And don’t get me started on the Prisoner of Azkaban…

My sister and I, being the huge fans we are, went to Universal Orlando a few years ago just for the Harry Potter section of the park.  I hear that it’s expanded since then (which we knew it needed to) so we’ll have to go back!  When we went to London in 2013, we went to the Warner Bros. studio and wandered the Harry Potter sets.  It was amazing!  We were able to see the original props throughout the 8 films!

I need to visit Pottermore again but I’m scared I’ll lose all productivity in life!

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I Work Around Men….All the Time

My first job out of college was working in a chemical lab.  I was the only woman and everyone else was a male in their 50’s, old enough to be my dad…not that there’s anything wrong with that! In my current job in the Plant, there are only 2 other women who work here.  Being a female engineer, I’m used to being the only woman in the room.  But sometimes it can be a little bit annoying/frustrating, because I know that when I’m working in the Plant, sometimes the guys want to be able to relax and they can’t out of respect for me. I feel completely comfortable where I work, but sometimes being a double minority sucks!

What I like to do to combat this is connect with other women.  We have a small group of women engineers in my company, and we make an effort to get together every few months and just talk.  It’s another reason why I enjoy being a part of the Society of Women Engineers.  It’s a great way to meet new people and discuss common interests and experiences.

I also love blogging for this reason because I’ve noticed that the blogging world is FULL of women!  It brings out this amazing energy, and I’ve been able to engage with some of the most fun, interesting ladies!  Thank you for restoring my sanity!

I Failed Home-Ec

True, yet slightly sad story – when I was in the 7th Grade, we had what we called “Home and Careers” class and we had a project where we were supposed to find someone to interview about the career that we’re interested in.  At the time, I wanted to be a psychiatrist.  I couldn’t find anyone to interview, and I guess I collected some information about the career but I didn’t hand anything in, so I got a 0.  That ended up with me getting a 50 on my report card (while all my other grades were in the 90’s, of course)…so I failed the class that quarter.  Sorry Mrs. Turley!  As a result of that failure, when we moved into the fun part of how to navigate life with your career (find a place to live, buy furniture, and the like), I was classified as an “unskilled worker”, so everything was 10 times harder!  I couldn’t afford anything….if I didn’t know already, life is tough when you’re poor!

Did I learn something from that experience?  I guess so….don’t be a psychiatrist!

I was American Idol-OBSESSED!

American Idol was a BIG part of my life which I finally put to pasture a few years ago after the show became SO predictable and the judging became a hot mess.  From the beginning, I was insane about American Idol.  I watched the first season and fell in love with Justin Guarini (I couldn’t care less about Kelly Clarkson, even though I love her now!).  I could list a ton of contestants that I enjoyed over the years:  Ruben Studdard, Vonzell Solomon, Constantine Maroulis, Ace Young, Chris Richardson, David Cook, Crystal Bowersox….But there were 2 contestants that were my favorite of all time:  Elliott Yamin (Season 5) and Matt Giraud (Season 8).

Elliott was the first contestant I actually voted for a full 2 hours.  He deserved it, hence placing 3rd.  I can remember specific moments from each week of that season…there were a lot of great performers that year, but I was all about Elliott.  Elliott was a rough around the edges guy but with the VOICE!  I’m still a huge fan, have all of his CD’s (which you should seriously check out!!) and was so happy when I finally met him back in 2011 at a small venue in PA.  He’s the nicest guy ever!

Matt was a whole other level of craziness.  Matt was a dueling piano player and he really brought something different to the show.  He’s super talented and I went all the way to Michigan with a bunch of friends that I met online to see him, with floor seats of course!  It was awesome!  I even won backstage passes and got to meet all the contestants, including Adam Lambert (who was so sweet)!  I’ve gone to see Matt G two additional times since that concert, but I’m done with him for now…time to grow up and move on!  But I still hope one day he puts out some music.

Phew – I put a lot out there!  I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better! Now tell me something interesting about yourself that a lot of people don’t know!

[bctt tweet=”Are you a Harry Potter freak or American Idol maniac? We should be friends… #fridayfive #funny via @Janelle_RWNR”]